Chapter 51
1830 Words
Chapter 51 - How come they keep harassing me?
“Woah! This is a wonderful breakthrough!”
That was Prof. Antonio’s reaction when I told him my theory.
“May ginawa ako’ng theory tungkol dito dati, concerning the caudate and insula of the hyppocampus, but I was never able to pursue it, buti at naisipan mo to! Sa pamamagitan nito, matutulungan natin, `di lang ang mga fated pairs na napilitan sa partners nila, kung `di pati ang mga marked omegas na r**e victims, ang mga nasa abusive relationships, at ang mga iniwan ng mga partners nila! Hindi na nila kailangan magtyaga sa mga walang kuwenta nilang mates! Hindi na rin mahihirapan ang mga pairless omegas! Mabibigyan natin sila ng panibagong buhay – a brand new start!”
“Thank you professor,” I answered, glowing with delight.
“So, anong formula ang naisip mo? Paano iaadminister ito?” he asked with a big grin on his face.
“Actually, it is still a theory. I can probably do it by sending my pheromones straight to the insula of the test subject. After all, there is no stronger stimuli, than the pheromones of a prime omega.”
“Ha?” he looked disappointed, “So, in other words, wala ka pang naiisip, dahil hindi naman natin p’wedeng ilabas sa mundo ang pheromones mo!”
“For now,” I answer back.
So now, my quest is to find a way to duplicate my pheromones, and how to administer it into a test subject.
Ahh... if I could only use my pheromones freely, this could have been so much easier.
But then, I would need to find a willing fated pair test subject to test my theory upon.
“Doc, alas dose na po, sasabay po ba kayo bumili sa baba?” asked Pilar from my workstation door. Time really flies when you are busy.
“Yes, thank you for reminding me.”
I closed my laptop and went to the professor’s room where I found him staring at his niece’s picture. I touch his shoulder lightly and lean over to whisper to him.
“What would you want for lunch?”
“...kahit anong karne...” he answered absentmindedly.
I squeeze his shoulder before Leaving. It seems he is working on something again. He is probably thinking up a new project on his own, keeping it from everyone else, me included.
It does not bother me as much as it did before, but sometimes I wish that he would tell me more about the world inside his head.
“Doc, lika na?” Pilar called from the entry way.
“Yes, the professor wants to eat meat today,” I told her, “he seems to be busy with something.”
“Bababa ba kayo?” Pedro called to us. “Pabili naman ng softdrinks, naiwan ko `yung termos ko sa bahay.”
“Okay, pahingi na rin ng baon mo mamaya, ha?” Pilar said as the door to the elevator opened. “Masarap ang baon ni JP ngayon, `yung specialty ng misis n’ya na meatloaf.”
“Oh, is that so? I’ve been wanting to order that for some time now,” I told her, “but the professor prefers to eat my cooking.”
“S’yempre, mas gusto ni Sir Eric ang luto mo,” Pilar said with a playful grin. “kahit naman ako, mas gusto rin ng mister ko na ipagluto ko s’ya `pag maaga kaming nakakauwi.”
“That’s right, how is the newly wed life, by the way?” I asked her.
“Nako, doc, eto, hindi pa rin makapag overtime hanggang ngayon, kahit tatlong buwan na kaming married, gusto kasi ni hubby na magka-baby na kami, kaya...” she giggled, “alam mo na...”
“Are you meeting him from the alpha division?”
“Opo, doc, magkikita kami sa karinderia, kaya pasensya ka na, ha? `Di kita masasamahan umakyat agad mamaya. Paki sabi na lang kay PJ, tiran ako ng baon n’ya!”
“Got it.”
We went to Aling Tinay’s Karinderia where we met up with Pilar’s husband who Dr. Hilario, together with his companion, Dr. Perez.
“Dr. Abdel, as usual, it’s always a pleasure seeing you,” says Dr. Hilario, standing up.
He always greats me as if his wife is not right in front of us.
“Good afternoon, Dr. Hilario, Dr. Perez.”
These two alphas are currently heading the Alpha Division, after Dr. Heathlow was relieved of his duty four years ago. Our people in the Omega Strain division jokingly call them the two-headed hell hound of the alpha department, since they always act like dogs in heat when they see me. In fact, most people still can’t believe that Pilar married one of them, or that Dr. Hilario settled down with a woman.
“Dr. Abdel, baka naman p’wede mo kaming saluhan kumain ngayon?” Dr. Perez said with a seductive smile as he pulls out a chair for me.
“Thank you, but I prefer to eat with the professor.”
At least, they are more agreeable compared to the former Alpha Division head, in fact, Dr. Perez is quite the gentleman towards me, though he has been vying for my attention since he first came to the company.
He seems to believe that I am simply playing hard to get.
At least that’s what Pilar’s husband told her.
“By the way, Dr. Abdel, I loved your presentation at the last meeting, perhaps we could talk about the SGT kits over coffee?”
“No thank you,” I said straight out. “Also, the SGT kits were created by Prof. Antonio.”
“I know this great place in Makati where we can talk privately about it,” he smiled at me. “I would love to compare notes with you about your theory on the fated pair syndrome as well.”
I guess one of the alpha traits is the ability to hear only what you want to.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any free time,” I told the doctor.
“Then tell me your schedule,” he approached me, smiling expectantly, “we can go any time you’re free.”
“No thank you.”
I chose to ignore him and ordered some beef stew and chicken curry for my self before heading back. I gave Pedro his drink and went to the professor’s office.
“Professor, eat something first,” I gently shook his shoulder. “your lunch will get cold.”
He was roused from his reverie and stared at me.
“Ah, Habibi, salamat, ikaw talaga ang life-saver ko! Tamang-tama at gutom na `ko.”
He looks at the stew, then at my chicken curry.
“Uy, mukhang masarap `yan, ha?” he grins at me.
“Would you like to trade?” I asked him.
“Pahingi na lang, titikman ko lang,” he takes one piece of chicken, “patimpla na rin ng kape, Habibi, para may panulak ako.”
“No. You’re drinking too much coffee, the doctor told you to drink more water to save your kidneys and to keep from getting dehydrated.”
“Hay, nag na-nag nanaman ang missis ko,” he mumbles, ”napaka sarap mo naman kasing gumawa ng kape, eh, kaya ako naaadik sa `yo.”
I feel myself blush.
“Just drink your water,” I repeated. “Were you working on a new project?”
“`Di naman...” he replied, “Inaantok lang ako,” he yawned as he said this.
“That’s because you hardly slept in the past three days. We should leave early to buy our groceries and go straight home. Have you made a list?”
“Hmm, `di na kailangan `yun! Basta’t kunin na lang natin ang kailangan natin sa shelves.” he took another piece of chicken from my viand.
“Here, you can have the whole dish,” I pushed it over to him and ate the stew instead. “Next time, I suggest you go down to the eatery with me, so you could choose the viand you prefer.”
“Lagi mo `yang sina-suggest, alam mo naman na tamad ako’ng bumaba,” he said with a laugh. “Buti na lang magaling pumili ang Habibi ko.”
“If you want to call me Habibi, at least learn to listen to me.” I mumbled.
“Umiinom na naman ako ng tubig, ha?” he raised his cup with water inside and proceeded to drink it.
“But I would prefer it if you could accompany me downstairs, every once in a while. Dr. Perez made a pass on me today as well. You should call me Habibi in front of him to ward him off.”
“Ginawa mo naman akong alpha repellant!” he said with a laugh. “Ba’t `di mo gamitin sa kan’ya `yung ‘Alpha-Off’ perfume na ginawa natin? Or better yet, gamitin mo `yung original mo’ng imbensyon, para mas effective?”
“He’s not a dominant, it won’t affect him.”
“Hmm, oo nga, ano? Dapat talaga gumawa rin ako ng Alpha-Off na maaamoy ng lahat ng alpha...”
“That’s something you can release this year.” I added.
“Oo nga, para may mabigay ako sa mga ungas sa taas...” he mumbled, proving my theory of releasing a new item a year. “In the mean time, hayaan mo lang `yang si Pretzel, harmless naman `yun eh.”
That’s what he calls Dr. Perez, since he has curly hair.
“Eh, si Higad, nagpapa-cute pa rin ba sa `yo?” he asked about Dr. Hilario who sports a thick mustache.
“I’m afraid so. Even when Pilar is with me.”
“Alam naman kasi ni Pilar na `di mo papatulan ang asawa n’ya,” he laughs, ”puros landi lang ang dalawang `yun, pero balita ko, maayos naman silang magpalakad sa kabila, in fact, may ilang omega nang nakapasok sa west tower bilang mga assistant at secretaries, at binibigyan nila ng memo ang mga fellow alphas nila na inirereklamo for s****l harrassment.”
“What about me? How come they keep harassing me?” I asked the professor.
“Ang cute mo kasi, eh, hindi tuloy sila makapagpigil sa `yo.”
“That is s****l harassment,” I frown at him. He simply laughed.
“Sige, sige, sa susunod na makita ko si Pretzel, pagsasabihan ko s’ya.”
- Writer
